How the mainstream media in Chile describes fish farming
Chile is the world's second largest producer of farmed salmon, after Norway. In a new study, researchers have examined how its national newspapers have covered the sector in recent years.
An analysis of 445 newspaper articles shows that Chilean salmon farming in the period 2018-2024 received almost as much positive as negative coverage. However, the picture changes dramatically with the topic. Economy and technology are mainly covered positively, while environmental issues are dominated by negative perspectives.
The researchers retrieved articles from the Nexis Uni database using the Spanish terms for “aquaculture” and “salmon farming”. After filtering out articles that were not primarily about the salmon industry, they were left with 445 articles.
These were classified according to whether the coverage was positive, negative, or neutral, and according to whether the content mainly dealt with political, environmental, social, technological, or economic issues.
A balance of good and bad
Overall, the difference between positive and negative coverage was small, with 38.4% of the articles classified as negative, and 37.3% as positive. The remaining 24.3% had a neutral presentation.
The researchers therefore conclude that Chilean salmon farming cannot be said to be portrayed through a consistently negative or positive media angle.
"Overall, Chilean salmon farming was portrayed through competing economic, environmental, political, technological, and social narratives rather than through a consistently negative or positive media frame across the national media landscape," the researchers write.
Environment negative, economy positive
Economic and technological issues were mainly positive, while environmental issues were predominantly negative. Social coverage was more balanced, while political issues varied more in how the industry was portrayed.
The researchers also found differences between the different newspapers. How salmon farming was covered depended on both the topic of the story and the medium that published it.
The tone changed with the events
The analysis also shows that the tone of media coverage changed throughout the period, and the researchers link the development to political changes and major environmental events, among other things.
For several years, Chile has had an extensive debate about the economic importance of salmon farming versus its environmental, regulatory, and social consequences.
The researchers highlight, among other things, the escape of around 700,000 Atlantic salmon in 2018 as an event that has shaped the public debate.
They also refer to the conflict that arose after the government of President Gabriel Boric proposed in 2023 to create a new service for biodiversity and protected areas.
“According to the salmon companies’ interpretation, the new service would lead to a reduction in existing aquaculture concessions and impose restrictions on the industry’s growth. Consequently, this proposal created a controversial political environment between the Boric government and salmon farmers, leading to massive protests against the government’s policy from industry players and local communities in areas where salmon farming has been operating for decades,” they write.
Great economic importance
The background to the contradictions is, among other things, the strong position of salmon farming in southern Chile. The researchers point to previous studies that have found that the industry has contributed to direct and indirect employment, higher incomes and economic activity in remote coastal communities.
Local communities near salmon farms have, among other things, experienced greater reductions in poverty and lower income inequality than comparable areas without salmon farming.
At the same time, the growth in the industry has been accompanied by challenges related to, among other things, the environment, fish health, working conditions, and regulation.
